Blowout and ventilating smoker&#39;s pipe



July 7, 1942. w. BALLENTINE 2,288,379

BLOW OUT AND VENTILATING SMOKERS PIPE Filed March 1, 1941 Patented July7, 1942 BLOWOUT AND VENTILATING SBIOKERS PIPE William I. Bailentine, Los'Angeles, Calif. Application March 1, 1941, Serial No. 381,295

2 Claims. (Q1. 131-215) In smokers pipes and other appliances forsmoking of tobacco many attempts have been made to develop a pipe whichmay be readily cleaned out, that is, the stems or passages through whichthe smoke passes may be readily'cleaned and some of these requireremoval of a mouthpiece connection to allow swabbing out of moisturecollecting and condensing in the smoke passage. In most of theseconstructions of the pipe it is not possible to remove the moisture byblowing through the smoke passage, nor can a satisfactory passage bepresented for use of a cleaning out swab such as a conventional pipecleaner.

An object and feature of my invention is the construction of a pipeincluding a somewhat conventional bowl with a tubular stem for the smokepassage and a conventional mouthpiece with a smoke duct with means bywhich the smoke duct from the bowl to the stem may be blocked and at thesame time a vent port may be opened so that the smoker may blow throughthe pipe stem and blowout the condensed moisture or the liquids from thetobacco or saliva In this connection as the smoke duct from the bowl tothe stem is closed a further characteristic of my invention is that theremaining tobacco, the ashes or slug in the bottom of the bowl may bereadily knocked or scraped out of the bowl without any danger ofmoisture entering the bowl from the smoke passage. Another object andfeature of my invention is providing for ventilation, that is, thecirculation of air, through the complete smoke passages of the pipe andthe bowl after it has been cleansed out-and when put aside aftersmoking. When the bowl is hot from the consumed tobacco, this heatstarts a natural air circulation through ventilation ports, themouthpiece and the bowl. This has the action of drying the pipe stem andother parts through which the fresh air circulates. Therefore, anothermain characteristic of my invention is providing for air ventilation todry the pipe stem and the bowl.

In carrying out these objects, as above mentioned, I may use a somewhatconventional bowl with a pipe stem, except that the stem extends beyondthe bowl, the smoke duct from the bowl leading to the stem. Aconventional mouthpiece is connected to one end of the stem and in thestem extension and below the bowl I fit a rotatable valve, this beingpreferably hollow. A Vent port leads through the stem extension beyondon the opposite side of the bowl from the mouthpiece. The valve has apair of ports positioned to communicate with this vent and there arealso the second pair of ports positioned to align with the smoke ductfrom the bowl to the stem. These ports are so positioned that inonelocation of the valve, the port connecting with the bowl is open forpassage of smoke through the mouthpiece only. In another positionthisport is closed and the vent port is open thus allowing blowingthrough the mouthpiece, the stem and the stem extension to dischargemoisture collected in the pipe stem. In this position the bowl mayreadily be cleaned out by knocking out the slug or heel without'mcistureentering the bowl. In a third position of the valve the portcommunicating with the bowl and the pipe stem is open and also the portleading to the vent port or opening is likewise open, thus providing forventilation and air circulation through the valve, the pipe stem and thebowl, this circulation being" readily established when the pipe iscleaned out and the bowl is hot after smoking. It is desirable to leavethe pipeafter smoking with the ports in the ventilating and aircirculation position as this facilitates the drying of the stem.

My invention is illustrated in connection with the accompanying drawing,in which:

Fig. l is a longitudinal section through a pipe taken on the line ll ofFig. 2 in the direction of the arrows, the rotary valve beingillustrated in elevation partly broken away and the mouthpiece inelevation partly broken.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation taken in the direction of the-arrow 2 of Fig.1 showing in dotted lines the position of the vent port.

Fig. 3 is an irregular section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 in thedirection of the arrows with the vent ports of the valve in the smokingposition.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 in the direction of thearrows with the smoke ports of the valve in the smoking position.

Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 3 with the valve turned and the ventports in position for blowing out'the pipe stem.

Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 4 with the smoke ports closed forblowing out the pipe stem.

Fig. '7 is a section similar to Fig. 3 with the vent ports positionedfor ventilation, that is, air

bowl is the pipe stem Hi. This has a large diameter passage l5therethrough for smoke. Certain of the novel features of my inventioninclude an extension of the stem I6 on the side of the bowl from thestem portion M and located below the bowl. The bowl, the stem and thestem extension are preferably made integral and usually of briar orsuitable composition. It is to be understood however that this portionof the pipe may be of an assembled nature having the stem, the bowl andthe stem extension as separate elements if so desired. The mouthpiece I1is illustrated as broken away. This has a smoke duct l8 therethrough andmay be attached to the stem in any conventional manner.

In my invention I employ a bushing assembly 25 fitted in a recess in thestem and the stem extension below the bowl. This bushing has thecharacteristics of an enlarged cylindrical portion 26, a reduceddiameter cylindrical portion 21, these being connected by a bevelshoulder 28. The bushing is designed to fit against a shoulder 29formed. at the base of the recess and in the stem beyond the smoke ducti 3. There is preferably a second bevel shoulder 3E! positioned spacedfrom the shoulder 23 as it is not desired to have these shoulders comein contact but the bushing is properly fitted in place when engaging theshoulder 29. The outside of the bushing preferably terminates in a linewith the end 3| of the stem extension. The inside of the bushing ischaracterized by a cylindrical section or surface 32 on the reducedportion 21, this extending past the shoulder 28 and then a coned taperedsection 33 to the outer end of the stem. This bushing is inserted inposition in the recess of the stem to have a perforation 35 in alignmentwith the smoke duct I 3, this perforation being for the purpose ofpassing smoke or for air ventilation and circulation as hereunderdescribed. There is a second perforation 3B in the bushing in alignmentwith a vent opening 31 through the stem extension. This opening slopesdownwardly as regards the axis of the bowl and also slopes in a forwarddirection as regards a transverse plane through the bowl. The bushing ismade of suitable material and when once fitted forms a tight connectionwith the recess in the stem and is not intended to be removed. It is ofcourse obvious that the bushing may be omitted if desired as this merelyforms a stationary structure of a valve assembly to provide a connectionto the smoke duct l3 and a connection to the vent opening 37.

A rotatable valve plug designated hereunder as a valve is identified bythe numeral 45. This has a cylindrical inner portion 46 fitted in theinternal cylinder 32 of the bushing and a tapered section 41, thisconforming to the conical taper 33 of the bushing. The plug is hollow asindicated at 48 in the cylindrical part and a portion of the distance ofthe cone section. The cylindrical section has two ports, port 50 for thepassage of smoke and port 5! for air venting. These are the same sizeand as their center lines are in a diametrical plane align with thesmoke duct I 3 from the bowl recess l2. These ports take the variouspositions shown in Figs. 4, 6 and. 8 when the valve plug is rotated. Theconical part of the plug has two ports designated as vent ports, a firstport 52 is for blowing out the condensed moisture and saliva from thestem of the pipe and the second port 53 is for air ventilation andcirculation. These ports occupy the three different positions shown inFigs. 3, 5 and '7.

The stem extension of the pipe has an indexing insert 60 which may beformed of colored material fitted in a slight recess in such extensionclose to the bowl. The head Bl of the valve plug has indicia hereunderdescribed which when registered with the index 60 determine the locationof the various ports in regard to the smoke duct I3 and the vent opening31. In order to make the plug light and disseminate heat it has a coredout recess 62. This plug may be made of metal or of plastic, is held inplace by the friction of the tapered section and the friction of thecylindrical section, but may be removed and then when the mouthpiece isalso removed, it leaves a clear passage through the stem and the stemextension. These parts may then be thoroughly cleaned out with the usualswab.

In the manner of using a pipe and positioning the valve ports, theaction is substantially as follows: when it is desired to smoke thepipe, the valve plug is turned to the first position shown in Figs. 3and 4. In this case only the smoke port 50 is aligned with any passageand this being with the duct 13 and of course with the perforation 35 inthe bushing, the air draft created by suction on the mouthpiece drawsthe smoke through duct I3, the aperture 35, the port 58, through thehollow portion 48 of the plug, the hollow smoke passage l5 of the steml4 and thence through the smoke duct IS in the mouthpiece. In thisposition it Will be noted that the ports 52 and 53 in the cone sectionfor blowing out the pipe and for venting respectively are out ofregistry with any opening or port. When it is desired to blow out thepipe and to knock out the heel of tobacco from the bowl, the valve plugis turned to its second position indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. In thislocation the port 52 in the tapered section aligns with the vent opening31 and with the aperture 36 of the bushing. The port 53 is in a closedvalve position as to the bushing. The ports 50 and 5| are in a closedvalve position as shown in Fig. 6 registering against the inside surfaceof the bushing, thus the smoke duct [3 and the aperture 35 in thebushing are closed. The smoker may then blow through the mouthpiece andany saliva or moisture from the tobacco or other free flowing liquid inthe pipe stem and the hollow portion of the valve plug is blownlengthwise of the stem and in a downward and outward direction throughthe port 52 of the plug, the aperture 36 of the bushing and the opening31 in the stem extension. This will clean out a great deal of themoisture from the pipe. Presuming the smoker has finished his smoke anddesires to put the pipe away, he may turn the pipe upside down and knockthe heel of tobacco or the ashes out of the bowl. In this action as thesmoke duct 13 is closed, there is no chance of any moisture passing fromthe interior of the stem to the bowl of the pipe. The bowl may also ofcourse be cleaned out by a cleaning instrument without any of the ashesor unburnt tobacco passing through the smoke duct 13 into the stem ofthe pipe. When it is desired to put the pipe away after smoking, forpurposes of ventilation, the valve plug is turned to its third positionwhich aligns the port 53 in the tapered part of the plug with the ventopening 31 in the stem eX- tension. The port 52 in this tapered part ofa plug is in a closed valve position as to the bushing. This thirdposition aligns a vent port 5| in the cylindrical portion of the plugwith the smoke duct l3 and hence with the smoke aperture 35. The smokeport 50 is brought into a closed valve position. This seating of thevalve gives open passages for air circulation and ventilation from thestem extension by means of the vent port 31 to the hollow part of theplug, the smoke duct l3 to the bowl. There is also the connectionthrough the smoke duct of the mouthpiece, the stem portion I5 and theduct l3. If the valve is turned to this ventilating position immediatelyafter smoking while the bowl is hot, the differential temperatures ofthe air cause a natural draft which slowly causes the passage of aconsiderable Volume of air through the various ports and passages of thepipe and particularly into and through the hollow stem l5. This aircirculation has the action of drying the pipe by evaporating andcarrying with it any moisture so that after the pipe has been blown outand ventilated, it is in clean and dry condition for again smoking.

For convenience of indexing, the head BI is provided with a finger griphexagonal and portion having indexing or identifying letters such as Sdenoting the smoking position, B the blow out position and V, theventilating position for air circulation. When any of these letters arealigned with the indexing insert 60 the valve will be in the correctposition desired such as for smoking, for blowing out the moisture orfor ventilating. In Fig 2 the identifying letters are indicated asprojections. Two of these are shown partly in elevation on Fig. 1.

Various changes may be made in the details of the construction withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A smokers pipe having a bowl, a stem with a smoke passage, a ductextending upwardly from the stem to the bowl, the stem having aconnection for a mouthpiece at one end and having a vent extendingdownwardly spaced longitudinally from the duct remote from themouthpiece end, a rotatable valve plug fitted in the stem at the endremote from the mouthpiece end and having a hollow portion with a firstand second port spaced circumferentially and alignable with the duct, athird port spaced longitudinally from the first and second ports toregister with the vent whereby when the ports fully register with therespective duct and vent the first ort forms a smoke connection to themouthpiece with the vent closed and on rotation of the plug the secondport forms with the smoke duct and the third port a connection with thevent for air circulation through the bowl.

2. A smokers pipe having a bowl with a stem having a smoke passage, asmoke duct extending upwardly from the stem to the bowl, the stem havinga connection at one end for a mouthpiece, a vent spaced longitudinallyfrom the duct and extending downwardly from the smoke passage at theportion of such passage remote from the mouthpiece end, a rotatable plugfitted in the end of the smoke passage remote from the mouthpiece endand having a hollow portion with a first and second port spacedcircumferentially for aligning with the smoke duct and a third and afourth port positioned longitudinally from the first and second portsand also spaced circumferentially to align with the Vent, the said portswhen fully registering with their respective ducts and vents providing asmoke connection through the first port to the mouthpiece with the ventclosed and in the second position with the third port registering withthe vent and the smoke duct closed a blow out connection from themouthpiece through the vent and with the second port registering withthe smoke duct and the fourth port with the vent forming an airventilation connection through the vent, a portion of the plug andthrough the smoke duct and the bowl.

WILLIAM I. BALLENTINE.

